SC juvenile justice contractor fired, charged after gun found at youth center.
A contract employee of the state Department of Juvenile Justice facility in Columbia was fired after a gun was found inside the department’s Midlands Evaluation Facility in Columbia, according to the department.
The gun was found in the now-former employee’s belongings, and it was confiscated swiftly, according to a statement from DJJ. The contract-employee was only in the control room and did not have contact with any of the youths at the center. The employee also had limited interaction with staff at the facility.
The employee was fired and charged with bringing contraband to a DJJ facility, according to the department.
The contract employee entered the facility without going through a metal detector, DJJ said.
DJJ Executive Director Eden Hendrick says that the department will “continue to retrain all contract and DJJ staff on gate and facility entrance procedures, to include expanding and enforcing clear bag requirements.”
The center on Shivers Road houses only males at the facility, according to DJJ.
This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 12:18 PM.
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